I force myself to act all natural as I say in a rush, "I'll
have to call you back," and I hang up before Ericca can answer.
Robb stares at me, his upper lip curling back. "You should watch where you're going."
"Considering I wasn't even walking on the sidewalk but the grass, I would like to know how it is that you were in my way," I say. "And why should I have to be the one to move out of the way? Why do guys always think they should just keep on walking and everyone else will get out of the way for them?"
My heart pounds loudly in my chest as I stare up at him. I had forgotten how tall he is. Granted, just about everyone is taller than I am, given that I'm five foot even, but he's well over a foot taller than I am.
Does he even recognize me? Do I want him to?
"Must girls always act like they're the injured party?" he asks.
I roll my eyes. "I'm sure I hurt you so damn badly. Maybe your ego because I'm not falling over myself to apologize for having bruised your—"
"You walked into me, not the other way around." "So you say."
"I wasn't even walking," he says with a smirk. "How could I have walked into you?"
My jaw drops. Is he serious?
And that damn smirk. It looks just as sexy as I remember.
I hate him.
No, I don't. Why would I hate him? I mean he's just so… so… He's still delicious, even if he's being an ass and doesn't even remember me. I guess the sex must not have been as good for him as it had been for me.
"So, no, I don't think it's too much to want an apology. To expect one? No, I wouldn't say I expect it, but… I will say that I enjoyed watching you walk away from me before when you wore that sexy as sin pink bikini."
So he does remember me.
"My ego is just fine, thank you very much." His smirk is back, but his blue eyes are twinkling in a way I don't recall them ever shining back on that cruise ship. "I don't need you to stroke my ego, but if you want to stroke something else…"
"Unreal. You think that you can just pretend…"
I hate that I'm left floundering, but I really don't know what to say or how to react. He's caught me off guard, and I can't say for certain if he had been walking or if I had plowed into a man who was just standing there. Because Robb isn't a kid. I would find it almost impossible to believe he's a freshman like I am. I had been too busy on the phone with Ericca to see anyone else around me. Maybe he's telling the truth.
But that damn smirk. I just can't be convinced that he isn't to blame as well.
I shake my head and try to slow my racing heartbeat. Why is my heart beating stupid fast? This wasn't how he had been on the cruise. If he had been this pompous and arrogant, we never would've ended up in bed together.
Or maybe we would've. I needed a release, a way to feel like I was in control still.
But that's a lie. None of us, not any of us, is ever in control. It's just an illusion we tell ourselves to try to feel better, but it's not real.
Control is nothing more than a cruel trickster. And I have a feeling Robb is a trickster too.
"I can just pretend what?" Robb asks.
Damn him. I stop talking because I didn't know where I was going with that.
But I offer him a winning smile. "You can tell yourself that it was just my fault—"
"For all I know, you did it on purpose."
"I didn't see you standing there. I'm sorry. I was a little preoccupied."
"Talking about cocks."
Shit. He had been eavesdropping. I hadn't been talking all that loudly, but he had been close enough to overhear me.
"Jealous?" I ask him.
"Why would I be?" he asks lazily.
I can't help bristling. I don't know why, but he's really getting under my skin.
I guess the illusion's worn off. I'll even bet those stupid sex dreams will finally end now. I just can't with him. I just can't.
"Well, it seems like the world is a lot smaller than either of us ever thought," I say, my head still spinning from knowing my sex god is here. "I'll be sure to keep an eye out so that I'll never run into you again. Happy?"
He just stares at me, his eyes half-lidded, as if he doesn't give a damn one way or the other.
Which Robb is the real one? The one who swept me off my feet back on the cruise? Or had that been an act? What do you want to bet that he had sex with as many girls as he could on that ship? I bet I'm just a number to him, and his
number of sex partners has to be so much higher than my own.
Whatever. We're never going to have sex again, so it doesn't matter.
What if he's the only guy who can make me come with his cock? What if he spoiled and ruined all other guys for me for the rest of my life?
"If you'll excuse me," I say stiffly, and I go to walk away, but another guy is walking by just then so I have to wait for him to go before I can take a step.
And with that step, my sandal snaps. I stumble, and my sandal goes flying off my foot, landing a few feet away.
Talk about mortifying.
I stomp over and pick up my sandal. "You really do have an amazing ass."
Shit. I forgot about my miniskirt, and my thong is all the way up my crack so it probably looks like I'm wearing no panties at all.
I whirl around and shake my sandal at him as if it's a weapon. "You can keep your eyes to yourself."
He snickers, that damn sexy smirk affixed to his face as if his lips are permanently fixed in that wicked curl. "Sorry, love, but I'm sure every hot-blooded male in the near vicinity was looking. If you don't want us to, then you shouldn't—"
"Shouldn't what? Shouldn't be wearing such a short skirt? It's hot out, in case you didn't realize, and there's no reason for you to judge me. Not at all. Not for any reason. Not for what I'm wearing or—"
"Or that you look like you're ready to slap me with that sandal?" He chuckles.
I don't know when I closed the distance between us, but he's right. I have the sandal pointed up at his face like it's a gun or sword.
"Not for any reason."
"Certainly not because of all the things you allowed me to do to your body," he says. "Don't act as if I haven't seen you naked before."
"Once and done," I hiss.
I lift my leg to put my sandal back on as much as I can. It's going to flip and flop with every step. Do I have time to run back to my room before my next class? I don't know. Fuck! I feel so damn discombobulated right now. I hate that he's making me feel this way.
I stumble a bit as I put my foot down, and he grabs my arms near my shoulders to steady me.
Only he doesn't release me when I'm on proper footing. "Why only once and done?" he asks.
I snort and shake my head. "I don't think so." "I bet I can change your mind."
"No, you can't. I'm busy."
"Busy dreaming about cocks?"
"Not busy dreaming about you," I retort, and I can feel my face turn red. It's from both embarrassment and anger, but hopefully, he thinks it's just anger because I do not want to have to deal with his ego.
"Are you sure about that?" he murmurs.
He releases one of my arms to cup my chin, stroking my jawline, forcing me to look up at him.
If I thought my heart had been racing before, that's not the case. Not at all. My heart is ready to leap out of my chest, but I refuse to allow my legs to turn into jelly.
" Robb…" "Kate."
My heart skips a beat. I swear it's the most traitorous organ in the world. Most traitorous and most treacherous.
But wait…
I shake my head, forcing him to release his hold on me. "I don't recall telling you my name," I say slowly. "How did you know that?"
Robb grins. It really lights up his handsome face. "I think you might not recall everything we talked about."
My gulp lands awkwardly in my stomach. We flirted from the start, and there had been no denying the sexual spark between us right from the beginning.
A sexual spark that remains despite my wanting there to be some distance between us.
I shake my head. "You just want to have some fun, and I'm not looking for that. I mean, if you're going to judge me based on my clothes—"
"You look hot."
I cross my arms. Without meaning to, the movement causes me to rub against my harder than normal nipples. I wait a moment, and sure enough, his gaze dips to my chest, although I will say that he then looks back up to my eyes.
"A woman is more than just a piece of ass," I hiss. "It was a compliment," he protests.
"Not when you're making it clear that you just want me flat on my back."
"Whoever said I wanted missionary?" he asks.
My mind flashes to the different positions we tried, and I find myself licking my lips without meaning to.
"Do you really think it's degrading to be called hot? Don't women referring to guys as hot all the time?" he asks.
"Not to their faces," I mumble.
"You just don't want to take it at face value. You want to be angry at me. Hell, I'm surprised you aren't blaming me for ruining your shoe."
"My sandal," I correct.
He throws up his hands. "Were you always this difficult?"
"I'm not difficult."
"You're trying to twist everything I've said to paint me out to be some kind of a villain."
"You can't dare try to say that you weren't judging me because of my clothes. A woman should be able to parade down the street naked if she wants to!"
"She would be arrested if she did that."
So would a guy for that matter. Indecent exposure.
And trust me, when Robb is naked, he is most certainly indecent.
"You're missing my point," I say, exasperated with him for obvious reasons and also exasperated with myself for being so torn.
He's being an ass.
But he still turns me on.
And that pisses me off more than I can say.
"Maybe you missed my point," he says, his tone changing slightly, huskier.
Sexier.
And he leans down, coming in for a kiss.